Thorns Have Roses
by Life-Testing
Summary: Post Lightspeed. Jinx wondered what she was supposed to do to keep herself entertained now that she had given up crime.


Jinx wondered what she was supposed to do to keep herself entertained, now that she had given up crime. Petty theft had started losing its thrill a long time ago, and after the way things went down with Madame Rouge, all of her big dreams as a villain were thoroughly trashed. But just because she'd given up crime didn't mean she was about to go out and _fight_ it. The entire concept was ridiculous. Laughable, even. She was no hero. No. Currently, she was a waitress.

The job had been easy enough to get. She learned how to forge a wide range of documents at HIVE Academy; working papers were a cinch. She wanted to make herself disappear, so she needed to work somewhere that wouldn't attract any attention. The diner was as nondescript as she could possibly ask for. The place was a little cramped, and the decorations were all obscenely tacky, but she was making decent money in tips and she knew it could be worse. Still. The work was by no means entertaining, or even the least bit stimulating.

Jinx heaved a sigh as she tucked a loose wisp of dark hair back into one of the messy buns at either side of her head, standing in for her signature horns. She hated her black hair. Dyeing her hair had been an obvious choice (bubble gum pink tended to leave an impression) but she regretted dyeing it black; it made her skin look even more washed out than usual. She also hated her boring work clothes, especially her converse. She felt so short without her boots. What she really hated, though, was being in disguise at all - the feeling it gave her, hiding like helpless prey. Jinx _liked_ standing out, and she'd always gone out of her way to make a statement.

Regardless, she needed to make some choices about what she wanted to do next, and there was no way she could've decided what was right for her when she was surrounded by the idiots who used to be her teammates. (And the idiot who _wasn't_ her teammate but who always seemed to be around anyway, who should really learn to take a hint and recognize when he's not wanted because she never asked for any stupid flowers, okay?) Until she made up her mind, blending in was the best option she had. So she squared her shoulders, telling herself that she'd just have to be content with working another pathetically predictable shift for now, and brought the man who needed a refill another Coke.

She was going over to take the order of the couple that had just been seated at one of her tables, when she caught a drift of their conversation, stopping her in her tracks.

"I can't believe we were _right_ outside the bank and we still missed him! You have no idea how much I wanna meet him!" The teenage girl gushed, leaning forward in her chair. "He's amazing, isn't he, stopping that creep and getting all the money back? And so fast…"

"Well, that's the point, isn't it? I mean, he's Kid Flash, it's what he does." The teenage boy sitting on the other side of the table replied plainly.

_Kid Flash. _Jinx's mind echoed. Kid Flash, in the bank only TWO BUILDINGS down the street? She felt adrenaline shoot down her spine and rush to each of her nerve endings. _No. Freaken. Way._

Fighting back the heat flaring up at the tips of her fingers, Jinx stuffed the notepad and the pen she was holding into the pocket of her apron, willing her self-control to return to her. _Don't be stupid. The girl said Kid Flash took off, and it's been a couple minutes since then. For all I know, he could be Iceland by now._

She stalked into the kitchen, then out the back exit into the alleyway, telling anyone who was listening that she was going on break as she slammed the door shut loudly behind her. She glared at the first thing that caught her eye, a large rusty dumpster, and aimed a barrage of hexes, letting out a very aggravated scream. She was too preoccupied loosing her powers to notice the sudden wind that swept over her.

"What did the dumpster ever do to you?"

She inhaled sharply at the all too familiar voice, her hands clenching into fists as she whipped herself around. "What are you _DOING HERE_?"

The speeding idiot himself grinned at her. "I was in the neighborhood."

Too exasperated to think clearly, Jinx tossed up her hands and exclaimed, "Why couldn't you be in _Iceland_?"

Kid Flash tipped his head in confusion. "Why would I be in Iceland?"

Jinx let out a sound close to a shriek, and grit her teeth in an effort not to let another stupid statement like that last one slip out. "You could be anywhere! Anywhere but here, why are you _here_?"

"I wanted to see you." Kid Flash said simply.

Jinx opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again, but still she had no response ready.

Silence, however, was not something one had to worry about when one was in the company of Kid Flash. He reached out to wind a strand of her blackened bangs around his fingertip. "Please tell me this isn't permanent."

Jinx felt a vein twitch in her forehead. "It's washable." She admitted starkly.

Kid Flash grinned at her again, easygoing and playful, like always. "Good. I gotta be honest, Jinx, it's not working. I liked your hair the way it was, pink's really more your color."

"Did I ask you for your opinion?" Jinx hissed, eyes literally sparking as she slapped his hand away.

"It's cute how easy you are to rile up."

Jinx's faux amused expression was almost as dangerous as her still blazing eyes. "It's cute how you think I won't hurt you." Kid Flash's grin widened distinctly and she mentally slapped herself. "I was being facetious, you idiot!"

The red head didn't appear in any way deterred. "So, when do you get off work?"

Jinx contemplated vaguely how many more changes of subject she could endure. "In another two hours." She muttered, not seeing the use in lying; it was a safer topic of conversation than their previous one, and she severely doubted she could prevent him from finding out the answer even if she didn't tell him herself. It would be just like him to come zipping in and out of the diner every few minutes to see if her shift was over yet.

"Okay, why don't I come back and I'll walk you home." Kid Flash said brightly.

Jinx let out a wild sounding laugh at the suggestion. "What do you take me for? You really think I'd show you where I'm staying? There's no way!"

"Can't blame me for trying," Kid Flash quipped, and before Jinx could disagree with him on that, he snagged the notepad and pen out of her apron pocket. "Well, if you don't want to tell me where you live, I'll tell you where I live."

Jinx blinked suspiciously at the blur of his hands as he began to write, and then looked down at her apron, swearing under her breath when she saw that the pocket was empty. "_Why_?"

"In case you need me." Kid Flash told her, natural as breathing.

It got to her every time, how he'd just say things like that to her like it was no big deal. She shook her head, and made a show of rolling her eyes as he stowed the notepad and pen back in her apron pocket. "Like that will ever happen."

Kid Flash merely smirked. "We'll see."

"We will not." Jinx countered instantly, and groaned at how juvenile she sounded. "Whatever. I've got a job to do, I'm going back inside." She jabbed a finger at him, narrowing her eyes to slits. "And if you come back here, I'll hex you to Iceland myself, got it?"

Just once, she wished Kid Flash would look properly intimidated. He only looked amused. "What is it with you and Iceland?"

Jinx focused on taking deep breaths and told herself it wasn't worth it to hex him just to make a point. (How would she explain to her coworkers why an unconscious teenage superhero was lying in the ally she just left?) She turned sharply on her heel, stomping away from him without another word.

It wasn't until after she was back inside, when she reached into her apron pocket ready to get back to work, that she realized Kid Flash had slipped a red rose alongside her notepad and pen when he had returned them. She brushed her fingers over the velvety petals lightly, before she scoffed, and went to check on her tables.

_Stupid rose. Stupid speeding idiot._

* * *

Disclaimer: (Are these actually necessary?) This story is for fun, not profit. I don't own the Teen Titans characters or anything related to the series.

If I did, Jinx and Kid Flash would have gotten way more screen time. I thought the two of them had so much potential, I would have loved to see them in more episodes. Kid Flash is a cute one, innt he? And Jinx is a riot. I'm not sure if I'm familiar enough with their characters to write them really well (I feel kinda paranoid posting this because I haven't read the comics, so I'm only going off Lightspeed really) but I hope I did all right with them. If there's anything you noticed that you think I should work on please let me know.

I've got a couple vague ideas for how I might continue this, but I dunno how I feel about writing more. This was something I just kinda wrote on a whim, and I hope that you liked it, but I'm not sure if it's really worth expanding on. Opinions, please?


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